The present disclosure relates to a vehicle drive device that includes an input member drivably coupled to an internal combustion engine, an output member drivably coupled to wheels, a single wheel drive rotary electric machine, a speed change mechanism, and an inverter device.
A device described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-153897 is known as an example of the vehicle drive device described above. In the drive device, a wheel drive rotary electric machine [electric motor 8] and a speed change mechanism [automatic transmission 5] are disposed coaxially with a predetermined clearance between each other in the axial direction. An inverter device [inverter device 11] is disposed so as to overlap the wheel drive rotary electric machine as seen in the radial direction and with a part of the inverter device positioned between the wheel drive rotary electric machine and the speed change mechanism in the axial direction.
By disposing a part of the inverter device between the wheel drive rotary electric machine and the speed change mechanism in the axial direction in this way, it is possible to suppress an increase in radial dimension of the entire device. However, the wheel drive rotary electric machine, a part of the inverter device, and the speed change mechanism are arranged side by side in the axial direction, which increases the axial dimension of the entire device. It may be difficult to mount a vehicle drive device with a large axial dimension on a vehicle of a transverse mount type (a type in which the device is disposed with the axial direction of the device extending along the transverse direction of the vehicle), for example.